It’s beautiful to conceive and imagine but yet, at the same time mind-blowing to believe that in just shy of 12 minutes, a whopping $179.3MM transaction occurred when Christie’s sold Spanish cubist artist Pablo Picasso’s “Les femmes d’Alger” (translation: “Woman of Algiers”) over the telephone in New York Monday (May 11). The vibrant piece of work is one of a series of 15 paintings and a myriad of drawings by Picasso.

Surpassing the pre-sale estimate of $140MM, “Les femmes d’Alger”, created in 1955, is the most expensive painting ever sold at auction. The previous world record for a painting sold was British painter Frances Bacon’s “Three Studies of Lucian Freud” for $142.4MM just two years ago.

With a compound annual growth rate of around 10%, Picasso’s “Les femmes d’Alger” appreciated $31.9MM in 18 years (the last time it was on the market). What a return on your investment! Buying and selling art is a growing industry that provides a great deal of creative expression and financial opportunity as long as you have the money and time to play. It’s amazing to witness how the world has grown to value art. It truly is one of the cradles of our culture.

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